The Longest Walk
by Eryis
Summary: Laxus was tired, all that was in the way of sleeping was the short walk to his bedroom. But it seemed Freed had something else planned for him. Because of the rune caster's intervention, a walk that should have taken minutes at the most became the longest walk of his life. And damn it was the best walk he'd ever taken.


**The Longest Walk**

"Think I'm gonna call it a night."

Laxus stood up from the comfortable sofa, kissing Freed on the cheek as he did so. He cracked the muscles in his back silently, not wanting to interrupt the runic mage from the book he was reading. The two had been lounging around in the sitting room for nearly two hours, Laxus not once removing his arms from the smaller man's frame.

The lightning wielder had allowed his mind to wonder through this time, the gentle crackling of the open fire lulling him to a near sleep like state. He knew it wouldn't be long before he was snoring on his boyfriend's shoulder and he doubted Freed would enjoy lugging him to their bedroom.

"Sure," Freed placed his book down, smiling. "Don't get lost on the way up there."

Rolling his eyes at the gentle teasing, Laxus nudged his foot against a ticklish spot under Freed's leg gently. Recently, the Raijinshuu had created an utterly hilarious new joke with Laxus' sense of direction being the punch line. He took it in his stride, it was true that the thunder mage did have a slight tendency to get lost, but certainly not to the extents that Freed liked to tease about. He defiantly wouldn't get lost walking to the bedroom… again.

In his defence, they were at one of the Justine family mansions for a week away from the guild. The place was huge, as big as a damn palace. And all the doors looked the same down that massive hallway, so how was he to know he was walking into an old children's playroom and not a bedroom!

"Shut up," Laxus grinned slightly. "Don't stay up too late, wanna cook you something for breakfast and I don't want you tired so you can enjoy it."

"You're cooking? All the more reason to sleep in." Freed smirked.

"Little bastard," Laxus chuckled. "Might make it crap on purpose now."

Laxus leant down and brushed Freed's hair out of the way slightly, pressing his lips against the other man's forehead. He walked to the doorway of the sitting room, looking back when he reached the door frame. Freed had picked up his book again and was reading it.

"Seriously, though. Don't take too long, y'know I like having ya as my hot water bottle." Laxus smiled.

"Don't worry," Freed looked up from the book again, matching the other man's smile. "I'll finish this chapter and then I'll join you. It'll take twenty minutes at the most, I promise. Goodnight."

"Night."

Laxus left the room, looking down the hallway. Thankfully, the gaudy staircase wasn't hidden behind one of the many doors that all looked exactly the same, so he could at least make his way to the upper-floor without making an ass out of himself. Hopefully the rest of his journey was as painless as that.

He had to remind himself that he wasn't as bad with directions as the damn jokes made him out to be and that this was only one damn building. The stupid joke was making him believe in it now.

As he walked up the staircase, he tapped his fingers against the glossy and varnished wooden banister, absentmindedly wondering what it would be like to grow up in a place like this. Defiantly a hell of a lot different to growing up in Fairy Tail. He had to give it to Freed, he must have really wanted to join a guild to give this up.

A chuckle escaped his lips as he imagined himself as a child meeting Freed as a child; or at least meeting how he imagined Freed as a child. They probably wouldn't have gotten on all that well. Laxus would have thought Freed was a stuck-up dick who didn't know anything about reality and who knows what Freed would have thought about him. It probably wouldn't have been anything good.

"Heh," He chuckled as he looked up at a large painting of Freed and his parents. Freed looked like the perfect little rich boy. "Spoiled little shit."

At the top of the stairs, Laxus reminded himself that their bedroom was to the right of the staircase, three doors down from the end of the hallway. Not the left of the staircase and in the third door as he had thought the night before.

As he placed his foot on the red carpet that covered the large hallway, he paused for a moment. A small shiver ran up his left leg, covering his entire body and eventually settling down his spine. He frowned, placing his other foot on the carpet. The same feeling occurred again, this time originating in his right leg. It was a nice sensation, warm and comforting; kind of like having a hot cup of coffee in the morning.

"The hell?"

Laxus looked up to see that a small cube of runic lettering had surrounded him, spanning the width of the of the hallway and the length of three doors. Laxus turned around, seeing that he was completely surrounded in the runes that obviously belonged to his boyfriend. He tapped the nearby wall, finding he could get out of them.

He walked to the centre of the room sized enchantment, expecting to get some kind of challenge or rule that he would need to follow so he could escape. When he realised that nothing was going to occur, he looked around the small cube to see if he had missed anything.

"What the hell is he up to?" He mumbled, tempted to call out for an explanation from his boyfriend.

Before he could open his mouth again, a small and gentle breeze passed over him. He looked to where it was coming from, expecting to see that a window had been left open and Freed didn't write any enchantment rules to stop any stray wind. But when he turned he saw that the window was closed and bolted shut, as were all the other windows in the hallway. He frowned, noticing a small glowing part of the enchantment where the wind could have come from.

He went to inspect it, wondering if it had any clues as to with what Freed had planned for him, but was interrupted. The enchanted lettering that made up the ceiling of the box had begun to glow, catching Laxus' attention.

"What the fuck is-"

Again, Laxus was interrupted. From the glowing runes, small autumn leaves began to form and fall. They gently glided to the floor, leaving a dumbfounded Laxus to watch as he was surrounded by the crunchy, golden leaves. He brushed them off his shoulders and head as they gathered, looking around as the carpet was soon lost under a layer of autumn foliage.

He leant down and picked up a particularly large leaf from a small pile, gently poking it to test if it was actually there. His finger grazed gently across the delicate, golden plant. Yeah, it was defiantly there and definitely weird.

"If he expects me to clean these up I'll kill 'im."

He let the small leaf he had picked up fall to the floor, walking around to see if any instructions had formed now. The leaves crunched under his boots, breaking the silence. Again, he tapped against the runes to see if he could escape the enchantment now, but his knuckled clicked against the solid magic again.

The thunder mage turned quickly when he saw another glowing section of the enchantment, this time it was hidden under the leaves. It was a large circle, the leaves that covered it shimmering slightly before disappearing into runes in the same way Freed did when he teleported.

From the now empty circle on the floor, a small plant sprouted. It looked nothing more than a flimsy, small twig with a tiny green leaf sticking out of it to Laxus. The thunder mage chuckled gently.

"Looks like you got your proportions out on this one. Big space for a little sprout."

Laxus walked to the small sprout, leaning down to gently poke it. He didn't know what to expect, but thought that the only thing he could do was let this thing happen. He had no idea what Freed was planning, but it was easier to go along with it than fight it.

The patch of enchantments glowing again, Laxus stumbled back and fell to the leaf covered floor. He scrambled back gently, the small sprout glowing. The twig thickened and began to expand in height, turning into a sturdy tree trunk. It twisted and gained a coating of sturdy bark, branches off shooting from the main trunk. At the top, thin branches began to grow and gain a thick covering of green leaves. The leaved began to curl slightly, browning in colour as to fit in with the autumn leaves covering the ground.

"So that's what you're up to."

Taking a step back, Laxus couldn't fight back a large smile. Standing proudly before him was a perfect replica of an old oak tree that rested atop a small hill outside of Magnolia; a tree that meant a hell of a lot to him and Freed.

They had first discovered this tree at the start of their relationship. It was during their first date, after they had finished their meal they chose to go on an evening walk and happened upon the large, spectacular tree. They spent the rest of the night leaning against the sturdy oak trunk, talking and resting. Laxus had always liked the tree. He would deny it till he was blue in the face, but he considered that tree 'Their spot.'

Once the enchantments beneath the tree stopped glowing, Laxus walked up to it. He wanted to see if Freed had gotten all the details right, so leant down and brushed some leaves away from the bottom of the trunk. His smile widened gently as he saw Freed had made sure to include their little carving.

They'd made this after their third date. It was a small shape, two interlocking diamonds. It was, according to Freed, the runic symbol for infinity. It was also a symbol for the two of them, a visual representation of a promise they had made. At that time, they were still unsure about their relationship, very much experimenting to see if it would work or not. This symbol stated that, even if their romantic relationship failed, they would still remain close friends and that the Raijinshuu wouldn't be affected; even if Laxus wasn't technically part of it.

He slowly traced the shape with his finger, sitting in the leaves with a gentle smile. He was still unsure what Freed had planned, but this was good. Really good. It had been a while since they'd been to the tree, so it was nice to see it again.

Even if, you know, it was in the middle of Freed's bigass hallway.

Retracting his hand, he turned around and leant against the tree. He closed his eyes, letting the small breeze from the enchantment run through his hair and move a few of the leaves. He chuckled gently when he heard the sound of a few birds, leave it to Freed to put the smallest little details in his runes. Damn perfectionist.

After a few minutes of relaxation, Laxus opened his eyes again. He was still tired and didn't want to sleep in the enchantment against the tree. When he stood up, he saw that a small archway had broken between the runes, big enough for him to easily walk through.

"Guess this is done then." Laxus stood up, brushing off a few leaves again before walking towards the archway.

He looked back before he left the perimeter of the enchantments, smiling at the tree. Given the unpredictable nature of being a Fairy Tail mage, he didn't know when he'd have the time to see the tree again. He turned back, stepping out of the enchantment.

"Shame it's over."

He began to walk down the corridor again, counting the windows in the hallway to make sure he got the right bedroom. Four doors away from the window. Or was it three? Yes, it was three. Definitely three. Maybe.

His counting of the doors was cut short as he felt the chills covering his body again. He turned around to see the previous enchantment had been removed, no sign of the oak tree and leaves ever being there. He turned back to see that he was trapped inside of another enchantment. He chuckled, glad that this romantic treat of his wasn't finished just yet.

"Okay, what d'ya have for me now?"

Immediately after the final syllable left his lips, the inside of the enchantment became completely black. Laxus blinked a few times, trying to adjust his eyes to the sudden lack of light. He rubbed his eyes with the palm of his hand, the darkness doing nothing for his need to sleep. But, thankfully, light returned soon enough.

A powerful spotlight shone down from the ceiling, hitting down directly in the middle of the cube. The strong light illuminated a pristine, expensive looking suit covering a mannequin. It was made up of a white dinner shirt; black waistcoat; a silk white blazer, black handkerchief resting in the breast pocket; a pair of black dress trousers; and a bowtie to finish the look off. By the broadness of the shoulders, Laxus guessed that it was made for him. Either that of Elfman was going to wear it, which seemed unlikely.

Sliding his fingers against the delicate looking fabric of the white blazer, Laxus couldn't help but smile. It was certainly a beautiful suit, even though Laxus wouldn't necessarily say that white was the colour for him.

"It's great. Y'know, if ya can hear me," Laxus chuckled, adjusting the slightly askew bowtie. "But, if you want me change into it here, I don't know if I can. Since I'm in the hallway, y'know. Windows..."

Runes engulfed Laxus' entirety, the casual clothing he had been wearing practically disintegrating into thin air. He looked down, expecting to see his bare torso. But he was met with the sight of the same suit that had been on then mannequin. It fit him perfectly and it was incredibly comfortable, which Laxus didn't expect as he usually hated how restrictive formal clothing felt on him.

"You look handsome."

Laxus' eyes shot up at the sound of his boyfriend's voice. He was standing where the mannequin had been, also wearing a suit. It contained a white shirt, red blazer, red trousers and a patterned red waistcoat and cravat. The thunder mage didn't recognise it, but god did the runic mage look spectacular in it.

"Could say the same about you, that a new suit?"

"Yes, they're both new. Tailor made, actually," Freed smiled, the enchantment lighting up as he walked closer. "Do you like them."

"Yeah, they're fucking great," Laxus brought Freed into a short kiss. "You know my measurements then?"

"Well, not entirely," Freed chuckled, gently running his hands over the other man's broad shoulders with delicacy. "I made a few estimates with certain aspects. And, I may have stolen your coat for a week and given it to the tailor to assist her."

"I knew it wasn't in the back of the damn closet!" Laxus exclaimed, sighing with a smile as he placed their foreheads together gently. "I'm gonna get you back for all the 'blind old man' teasing from Bicks and Ever you didn't stop."

"I look forward to it," Freed grinned. "Now, we should probably work on getting out of here. Since I'm slightly trapped as well."

Laxus raised an eyebrow at Freed, who's eye glinted with magic as the runes began to shift again. The carpeted floor was replaced with white marble, the small enchantment being transformed into a miniature ballroom. A chandelier of candles hung from the ceiling, flickering slightly as they lit up the small, fantasy room.

Classical music began to rise in volume, gentle piano and violin practically caressing the dragon-slayers sensitive ears. It wasn't commonplace for Laxus to listen to anything classical, but he always enjoyed it when he did.

"You expect me to dance?" Laxus grin turned into a smile.

"No, I expect you to follow my lead." Freed matched the gentle smile.

The smaller mage took Laxus' hand in his, wrapping the other arm around the dragon-slayer's slim waist. The blonde was taken aback by the actions, but allowed Freed to do it without complaint. The two made eye contact for a short moment, before Freed began to move.

Even with the small size of the room, Freed found it easy to guide Laxus around in perfect unison to the music. With each step he took, Laxus did his best to match. To an unknowing eye, they were flowing perfectly as if they were an extension to the melody that filled their ears. If not for a few minor missteps on Laxus' part, they could have practiced for months and this was their final performance. They complimented each other exceptionally, Freed gently resting his head against the larger man's chest.

"You told me you couldn't dance." Laxus murmured softly. "Told me that you've got two left feet, if I remember right."

"I did, but not anymore it seems." Freed laughed quietly. "You can thank Ever and Bicks for that, I'm borrowing their talent tonight."

"I'll thank 'em when I see 'em next." Laxus hummed. "Wait, hold on. When you say that you're borrowing their talent, you don't mean literally do ya? We're not gonna get a call from gramps saying they've lost all their coordination and there's runes on 'em because you're stealing it, are we?"

Freed laughed rhythmically, looking up at his boyfriend with a wide, unrestrained smile. Laxus matched it, chuckling at the relaxed expression.

"No, they taught me. They're better dancers than I expected." Freed looked back at Laxus' chest as he concentrated on the music again. "Elfman isn't though, which probably isn't a shock for you."

"Elfman?" Laxus frowned slightly. "You saw Elfman dance? How did that happen?"

"When you and Bickslow went on a mission, Evergreen thought it was a good time for me to have as many lessons as we could. But I needed to learn how to lead with a larger man, so Ever dragged Elfman over to help."

"You and Elfman dancing?" Laxus sniggered. "Elfman and you ballroom dancing. And he let you lead? Please for the love of god tell me you recorded it. Please."

"No, we didn't. The camera wouldn't have left the room in one piece" Freed laughed gently. "It was an amazing sight. He had no idea how to react, he kept looking anywhere but at me and Ever. When Natsu walked in, the poor man didn't know what to do. He yelled something about how men help their friends even if it's not manly or something."

They fell into a comfortable silence, Laxus slowly managing to get into the same flow as Freed. He closed his eyes again, the soothing music and relaxing movements amazingly calming for him. Perhaps he and Freed could dance more, in private of course. Or not, wouldn't do any harm showing the guild how to dance properly.

Freed had rested his head against Laxus' chest again, the gentle beating of his heart merging with the music. He sighed in satisfaction, ignoring anything that attempted too interrupt their moment of calm.

"You learnt when me and Bicks were on a mission? That was like two months ago," At Laxus' words, Freed bit his lip slightly. "How long have you been planning this?"

The runic mage didn't answer, hoping that Laxus wouldn't ask again. So far, his plan had gone off as well as it possibly could have, and he wasn't going to let something so small as a question derail it at this point.

Laxus frowned down at his boyfriend. He knew Freed liked to plan things ahead and that he was a perfectionist when it came to things he was passionate about, but planning a romantic treat like this months in advance was obsessive even for him. Not that Laxus was going to complain; so far, the evening had been great.

Again, the music took over the silence and they returned their focus on the gentle swaying and moving as they danced. They remained like this for a few more moments, Freed taking a slightly shaky breath before he spoke again.

"That's not the question you should be asking," Freed looked up to see Laxus gazing at him questioningly. "There's another question you should have asked. It's a bit more important."

"Wanna tell me what it is?"

"Are you sure, because once I tell you there's no going back," Freed was biting the inside of his gum as Laxus hesitantly nodded. "You should be asking how we get out of here, because the dancing doesn't seem to be working."

Laxus looked at the walls of the runes again, forgetting that the dancing was meant to be the way out of the enchantment. He certainly wasn't in a rush to leave, but the small nervous mannerisms Freed was showing meant there was something else in the question. A hidden meaning of some sort that he obviously wanted to talk about.

"Okay. So, what do we need to do to get out, then?"

Freed took a steady breath as he slowly stopped their movement, looking up at Laxus as calmly as he could. He tried to not show his nervousness, really hoping his heart wasn't beating loud enough for the dragon slayer to hear.

"I need you to close your eyes, Laxus," Freed gave Laxus a soft gaze as the larger man opened his mouth to speak. "Please, it won't take long."

Nodding again, Laxus slowly let his eyelids close. Freed was scaring him now; the rune mage was definitely nervous about something. And, even in the worst of times, Freed wouldn't shy away from eye contact. So, something was definitely wrong.

"You can open your eyes now, Laxus."

The blonde frowned when he heard the voice that was clearly lower than Freed's normal height. He opened his eyes slowly, not knowing what to expect. When he looked down, his eyes widened and his breath shook.

Freed was resting on one knee, in his hand a small velvet box containing a silver and blue ring.

Trying to calm his breath, Freed looked up at the blonde with a wide smile. His heart was hammering against his chest, foot digging into the bottom of his boot to stop his legs from shaking with nervousness. He waited a few moments to remember what he had prepared to say, tentatively opening his mouth.

"Laxus Dreyar-"

"Yes."

Freed's eyes widened at the interruption, heart beating faster and faster as he processed what the blonde had said. Not knowing how to react, he said the first thing that came to mind.

"I-I haven't actually asked yet."

"I don't fucking care the answers yes." Laxus' voice shook gently.

"Do you mind if I say what I was going to say anyway." Freed's voice was taken over by a shaky laugh, Laxus nodding. "Okay, Laxus Dreyar. I-I honestly don't know what my life would be without you. Since I've met you, I feel as though I've evolved as a person. You'd probably deny it, but the person I am now is so much better than the person I was before I met you. You taught be compassion, tenderness and how to love."

Laxus took a small shaky breath, blinking back a wetness in his eyes.

"I love you so goddamn much, even though you're an annoying ass sometimes. I've known for a long time that we were meant to be together. Two stubborn men who work amazingly together despite all odds saying otherwise; it's practically part of the dust jacket of a cliché romance novel. And I don't care if it's cliché, because you are a spectacular, beautiful and tremendous man. And don't you dare start crying, Laxus Dreyar, because we both know if you start then I will too and I'd like to end the day with a small amount of dignity."

Chuckling slightly, Laxus wiped away the tears that were forming in the corners of his eyes.

"Honestly Laxus, I love you more than I ever thought possible. And I have the arrogance to hope you feel the same way as me. So please, will you marry me?"

"Of course I will you fucking idiot."

Laxus collapsed down onto the floor beside Freed, pulling the other man against him and bringing him into a slow, passionate kiss. He pulled the smaller man as close as he could, left hand running through the silky green locks of hair that belonged to his boyfriend. No; Fiancé!

"God I love you." Laxus whispered as they pulled apart, kissing Freed's face wherever he possibly could. "Love you so much."

"I'm glad that you do, otherwise getting married would be rather awkward." Freed laughed, gently batting away the endless amounts of kisses from Laxus. "Do you want to look at the ring?"

It was a sleek wedding band, a small trail of small sapphires encrusted in the centre of the thin ring. A small engravement of letters that Laxus recognised as runes were carefully carved under the line of sapphires. Laxus slowly ran his finger over them before Freed took the ring off his, sliding it down the blonde's ring finger with a smile. It fit perfectly!

"What does it say?" Laxus smiled, unable to keep his eyes off the ring.

"There's no direct translation, it's a name. There's an old folklore tale that states if a couple were to fall in love under the gaze of an old tree, then a falling leaf would gain consciousness and act as a sort of guardian angel for them. According to the story, this happened because one of their gods can only communicate through nature and made it his role to sustain the romance of humanity. I thought, given how we came across the tree after our first date, it was oddly applicable. That's the name of the god, though I've absolutely no idea how to pronounce it."

Freed looked up from the ring towards Laxus, shocked when he saw tears falling freely down the larger man's cheeks. He gently stroked them off Laxus' cheeks, smiling gently.

"Are you okay?"

"Shit you're good at this." Laxus chuckled with a small sob. "I don't know anyone else who can turn walking to bed into the most romantic moment of my whole fucking life."

Freed laughed again, resting their foreheads together with the softest of smiles adorning his features. They stayed in silence for a few minutes, the music they had been dancing to still playing quietly behind them.

"I like the ring." Laxus grinned. "It's great."

"I'm glad. I'm sorry I couldn't find a gemstone more fitting to you. I looked for something yellow, but the only thing I could find was yellow-fluoride and that's not the most romantic crystal."

"No. I like the blue." Laxus smiled. "Reminds me of your eyes."

"Wow. After all I did and still you manage to be the corny one."

"Oh fuck off." Laxus laughed loudly, wiping away the tears again. "Damn brat."

Slowly they found each other's lips again, the kiss filled with passion, care and romance. Freed gently ran his hands up and down Laxus' broad arms. A warm sensation filled the rune mage's heart as he felt the ring on Laxus' finger on his lower back where his hand was resting. The two pulled apart again, smiling at each other broadly.

"Come on." Freed panted softly. "We should get to bed, you look like you're about to pass out."

"That's your fault, I just wanted to go to bed." Laxus pouted playfully. "But I guess this was good too."


End file.
